Last week Mariah Pagliocco, longtime member of the Magic community and daughter of a Wizards of the Coast employee Tony Pagliocco, was in a serious accident: Struck on the sidewalk by a car while walking home after the last test of her school year. Her injuries are so catastrophic that she will never walk again.
Mariah, and her father Tony, are gamers through and through. Known as Magic Online streamers and tournament players, the duo enjoyed playing together as you can see in a showdown at a StarCityGames Open a couple years ago:
The cost to recover from such a devastating accident reaches beyond just medical care: Specialized transportation and home renovations to make the house accessible are just the tip of the iceberg of these lifelong expensed. To handle with these staggering costs, Tony has asked for help.
Lifelong gamer & 17 year old daughter of friend and WotC employee @tpupaz will never walk again. Donate if you can:
— Lee Sharpe (@Lee_Sharpe) June 1, 2014
I hate pandering celebrity tweets, but if we can raise more $ for #teampanda, we do it. http://t.co/ZnQZtjIhOS @wilw @pattonoswalt
— Matt Tabak (@TabakRules) June 3, 2014
Over half way to the goal! Please help support either by donating and/or sharing <3 #teampanda https://t.co/c53qN0lgQW
— Christian Calcano (@CCalcano) June 4, 2014
I cannot even begin to express how thankful I am and how amazing my friends are
— Tony Pagliocco (@tpupaz) June 2, 2014
Speak of, @GatheringMagic has agreed to take store credit I would earn for doing @thedecktease this month and turn it into donation for her.
— Erin Campbell (@OriginalOestrus) June 3, 2014
The community has embraced the effort, raising over half of Tony's goal, but there is still work to be done. If you'd like to help, you can visit the Medical Fund for Mariah Pagliocco donation page, or give directly through the widget below.
With millions of dollars donated through numerous gaming charity events in recent years, the Magic and gaming community at large is among the most generous. It's time to help one of our own, so let's keep going until Tony's goal is met.